Indonesia and UK Reach Agreement for repatriation of British Woman Facing Execution
Jakarta, Indonesia – Indonesia and the United Kingdom have finalized an agreement to repatriate a British woman who was sentenced to death by firing squad for drug trafficking. The move comes as Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto’s management continues to send foreign prisoners home under bilateral agreements with thier respective countries.
The British national, 68 years old and currently seriously ill, was convicted in 2013 and had her appeal to Indonesia’s highest court rejected. she claimed she was forced to carry the drugs by a gang that threatened her children. Details of her name have not been released. The repatriation agreement was signed by UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Yvette Cooper and Indonesia’s Senior Minister of Law Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
“Both of them are facing problems. The first one is ill and has been examined by a doctor from the British Consulate in Bali,” Cooper stated.
The transfer of the prisoner will proceed following the completion of technical and administrative procedures by both nations. This case is part of a broader trend of Indonesia addressing its considerable prison population, which includes approximately 530 people on death row, largely for drug-related offenses, including nearly 100 foreigners, according to Ministry of Immigration and corrections data from last month.
Indonesia, a major drug smuggling hub despite its strict drug laws, has recently repatriated other foreign nationals, including a Filipina who faced the death penalty and five Australians convicted of heroin trafficking. the United Nations Office on Drugs and crime notes that international drug syndicates target Indonesia’s young population. Indonesia last carried out executions in July 2016, involving a citizen and three foreigners.